


Movie Night

by Talithax



Category: Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff and Humor, Geeky, M/M, Mild Language, POV First Person, Star Wars References, pop culture references
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-04
Updated: 2015-05-04
Packaged: 2018-03-28 23:55:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3874720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Talithax/pseuds/Talithax
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Benji's choice in movies brings back memories for Will that he'd really rather not be reminded of...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Movie Night

**Author's Note:**

> ~ Narrated by Will. Self beta'd.
> 
> ~ Okay. It's like this. This fic is fluff, pure and simple fluff. I wrote it a couple of months back to amuse myself (yeah, yeah, I'm easily amused) and, to be honest, never really had any plans to post it.
> 
> ~ However, in honour of today being Star Wars day -- May The Fourth Be With You -- I... Well. I changed my mind about posting. (Perhaps I shouldn't have had this change of heart, but... there you go.)
> 
> ~ Now. This solely come about because of the headline - Mission Impossible Terrified of Star Wars. (Remember that? It came out when it was announced that Rogue Nation was being moved up to a late July release date from December because of the 'fear' of it being obliterated at the box office by the new Star Wars movie...) Anyway, that headline is comedy gold right there, and...
> 
> ... I couldn't help myself.
> 
> ~ So, yes. Fluff, fluff, and more fluff.
> 
> ~ Enjoy~

==========  
Movie Night  
by TalithaX  
==========

 

“So, what cinematic masterpiece have you got for us tonight?” Jane queries as, wearing her favourite night attire of one of Benji's old – or, alternatively, 'missing from his suitcase' – Marvel T-shirts over black leggings and with her hair still damp from her recent shower, she wanders into the living room and casts a pointed glance at the television set.

“Masterpiece?” I mutter, rolling my eyes as, clearly not having noticed I was sitting on the sofa, Jane jerks her head around at the sound of my voice and shoots me a surprised look. “I can't help but think, especially given that last... monstrosity... he subjected us to, you're perhaps being a little too kind with your description.”

“Actually...” Her expression souring, Jane turns to Benji and, possibly for no other reason than she's standing close enough to him to do so, jabs her finger into his shoulder. “Although I'd managed to erase that crap from my memory, now that Will's kindly reminded me of it... He's right. If you ever inflict anything as painfully, not to mention as... obnoxiously... tedious as that on us again then, I'm telling you now, your movie picking rights are going to be instantly revoked.”

“So, what I'm hearing is...” Trailing off, Benji flashes Jane an unbothered grin and, knowing better than to remain within her reach when he's teasing her, shifts around to stand closer to the television set. “That neither of you found the Lego Movie... awesome... at all.”

Groaning, I pick up a cushion and throw it at Benji's head. “You just had to go there, didn't you.”

“I did,” Benji retorts just a tad smugly as, having – unfortunately – caught it before it hit him in the face, he throws the cushion back at me. “Come on, guys. Sing it with me! Everything is...”

“Say it,” Jane interrupts, folding her arms across her chest and giving him a narrow eyed, warning look, “and it won't matter what the movie is you've got hiding in your bag as you'll be spending the rest of the night with me as I practice my interrogation techniques on you.”

“Uh...” Accepting that Jane's threat is both serious and that he'd be wise not to see how far he could push before she decided to make it a reality, Benji pales slightly and nods. “You really thought it was... that... bad?”

“Bad?” Jane echoes, softening her stance by unfolding her arms and shrugging. “Try fucking awful and you'd be getting closer.”

“But... Ethan... What about Ethan? Did he...”

“If you must know,” I interject, “Ethan suggested we might like to keep a copy of it around to use as a last resort method of torture. You know, as in tape their eyelids open and, at full volume and beamed on to every wall, force them to watch that shit until they were begging to tell us everything they knew.”

“What's more, it'd work too,” Jane adds, wrinkling her nose with obvious distaste. “Seriously, Benji, just... Never again. I mean, look... I like the escapism of kids movies as much as anyone, but that was dire.”

“And the inclusion of Will Ferrell, in Goddamn human form, no more and no less, just pushed it over the edge once and for all,” I murmur, looking over at Benji and flashing him an apologetic smile. “Sorry, but it's true.”

“Right. Got it,” Benji replies with what may well be a long suffering sigh. “Will Ferrell joins the... no show... list with Jim Carey, anyone who's ever been in Twilight, Russell Crowe...”

“Don't forget Sandra Bullock,” Jane mutters, picking up Benji's satchel from the armchair and holding it out towards him. “If I ever see her drab face popping up again on a screen in front of me it will be too soon.”

“And while we're on that list,” I state, stretching my arms out along the back of the sofa, “as I'm a little over the Liam Neeson, geriatric action hero genre, I think he can be added to it as well.”

“Perhaps the list would be shorter if you just told me who it is you... do... like,” Benji mutters, taking his bag from Jane and, his confidence in the ability to choose movies for the rest of us clearly having been severely dinted, hesitating over reaching in to it to pull out tonight's offering. “I mean, if you don't like what I've been choosing for you, then...”

“Cheer up, Benji,” Jane interrupts as, with a grin, she walks over to him and slings her arm around his shoulders. “Usually we cope. Some, even, are quite good, and you generally can't go wrong with dumb action movies that we can all talk over and pick on, but... Come on. Even you looked like you were cringing during that Lego thing.”

Nodding, Benji gives Jane an oddly sheepish look. “Given everything I'd read about it, I honestly expected it to be better,” he confesses. “But... I don't know. If there's anything you've seen around that you think you might like to watch, just let me...”

“See... where?” I query, cutting him off. “Don't take this the wrong way or anything, Benji, but just about the only places I see movies are when I'm stuck with absolutely nothing else to do on a plane, and... night's like these when we just hang out and watch whatever you've chosen for us. Now, if that makes me a troglodyte, then...”

“But...” Frowning, Benji looks over at me and shakes his head. “You're not really sitting there telling me that you don't watch movies just... for pleasure, are you?”

“Uh...” Not really liking either the expression – of disbelief – on Benji's face or how I've unwittingly turned the spotlight on to myself, I shrug and, in an obvious ploy to change the subject, gesture at the television. “So, getting back to Jane's original question. What have...”

“Maybe he doesn't have time for movies because he's too busy catching up on all the television he's missed while away,” Jane offers with a truly shit-stirring smirk as, pulling her arm away from Benji's shoulders, she joins him in directly facing me. “Maybe... Maybe he and Ethan are closet daytime soap fans. You know, like The Bold And The Beautiful, or Days Of Our Lives.”

“Oh. Very funny,” I mutter as, despite it not having worked the first time, I once again gesture at the television. “Now, as I was going to ask before I was so rudely interrupted, what...”

“Actually, I don't think you're right with the daytime soap angle,” Benji interjects, winking at Jane as he ever so calmly talks all over the top of me.

“No?” With the smirk still tugging on her lips, Jane gives Benji an expectant look from under an arched brow. “Then what, then?”

“Reality shows. You know, like...”

“Survivor?”

“Oh yeah. That's a good one. I could see Ethan getting right in to Survivor.” 

“Master Chef?”

“Oh, I'm sure Will would be up for any of the cooking shows.”

“If you keep this so called comedy routine up much longer, what I... will... be up for is taking over Jane's threat of spending the rest of the evening practising my interrogation techniques,” I mutter, shooting them both an unamused look. “If you must, not that I really see it as being any of your business, know, we rarely even turn the television on and, whether you believe me or not, I don't even know what the shows are that you're talking about. So...”

“So... What do you do with your time, then?” Benji queries, giving me a genuinely curious look. “If you don't watch movies or television shows, what do...”

“Read,” I murmur as, knowing how to end this particular conversation once and for all, I sit up and affect an innocent expression. “We read a lot, of course, but we also spend a lot of time fu...”

“And that, I think, is where we leave the topic of what Will and Ethan do in their free time,” Jane exclaims with a snort of laughter as, clearly not having been expecting me to be so blunt, Benji blushes a truly bright shade of red. “So... Yes. Tonight's movie. What's it to be?”

“Uh...” Gazing down at his satchel in preference to – God forbid – accidentally making eye contact with me, Benji slowly shakes his head and, in general, just about gives every indication of not quite knowing what to do with himself.

More amused by his reaction than perhaps I should be, I lean forward and smile sweetly. “So, Benji... What's it to be? Your movie of the night, or... Maybe what you'd really prefer is for me to regale you with stories of what we like to get up to in the bedroom?”

“I... What? No!” Benji all but howls as, despite the fact he's still blushing, he lifts his head and shoots me a horrified look. “Just... No. I mean, I... I don't have a problem... Uh... That is... What you two do in... Uh... I...”

“Spoilsport,” Jane murmurs, gracing me with an another smirk as she taps her finger against Benji's satchel. “Come on, Benji. What do you have for us, huh?”

“I...” Drawing himself up to his full height, Benji nods to himself and, after ferreting around in his bag for a couple of seconds, triumphantly pulls out an USB drive. “Actually, you're in for a treat,” he beams, his equilibrium having apparently been so effortlessly restored at the thought of just what it is he's got for us to watch. “Just... It's the original! As in the original we all would have seen in the cinema as kids!”

“Great. Did you hear that, Will? It's the original,” Jane mutters drily as, neither of us having any idea whatsoever as to what Benji's blathering on about, we share a blank look. “Uh... The original... what... exactly?”

“You know! The original. Not the horrible Special Edition version with the pointless and downright offensive inclusion of Hayden bloody Christensen at the end,” Benji explains cryptically as, dropping his satchel on to the floor, he clutches the USB drive as though it was some sort of holy relic. “It... Seriously, guys, you have no idea how long I've been searching for it!”

“Searching for...” Stopping herself from continuing, Jane sighs and grabs Benji by the shoulders. “If you don't tell me just what it is you're going on about you're... you're going to have to search for the damn thing again as I'm going to take that USB drive and flush it down the toilet!”

“But...” Looking aghast that she could even threaten such a thing, Benji presses it to his chest. “But Ethan's in the bathroom!”

Jane gives him a cool look. “So?”

“You couldn't just barge in...”

“I... couldn't?”

“No! It... It just wouldn't be right.”

“Well, you've got five seconds to tell me what your damn... original... is before we find out!”

“Uh! Return Of The Jedi! It's Return Of The Jedi!” Benji declares hurriedly as, with great tentativeness, he holds the USB drive out towards her on the palm of her hand. “Because I dislike the Special Edition so much, and... uh... because I really have been looking for the original for a very long time, I... uh... thought we could watch Return Of The Jedi tonight...”

“Oh... Fair enough.” Her curiosity sated, Jane shrugs and walks over to take a seat on the sofa as, mentally crossing my fingers that I can get out of the room without making any sort of scene, I stand up and begin to make my way towards the door. “Uh... Will? Isn't the movie about to start?”

“It... It can start without me!” I exclaim breathlessly, ignoring the strange looks I'm getting from both Jane and Benji. “And... And what's more it can end without me too!”

My piece said, I bolt from the room and, in my hurry to reach the sanctuary of the bedroom, very nearly bowl over Ethan as, fresh from his shower and clad in jeans and a well worn dark grey long sleeved T-shirt, he walks out of the bathroom.

“What's the matter?” he queries, the surprise he's feeling at my random-as-fuck behaviour coming through loud and clear in his voice as he closes his hand around my upper arm to steady me. “Will?”

“Benji's movie, I... I just can't,” I mutter, shaking off his hand as, not even wanting to be able to hear so much as the opening strains of the movie, I continue down the corridor. “I... I know I'm acting like a dick, but I just can't.”

“A dick? What? Will? What are you...”

Reaching the bedroom, I quickly close the door on the rest of Ethan's question and, with my stupid, irrational heart beating heavily in my chest, sink down on the edge of the bed.

It...

It's stupid. Pathetic, even. I'm an adult, an IMF agent, for Christ's sake, but I just can't do it. It doesn't matter that it was decades ago and that every rational bone in my body tells me that if I'm still capable of getting so worked up over – nothing – them then I may as well just wave the white flag of defeat and lose my shit over every make-believe creature from vampires to the tooth fairy.

But...

Nothing matters though except my memories and how, as a seven year old, Return Of The Jedi, with a side helping of my older sister, scarred me for life.

And I just can't do it.

At the risk of sounding like a huge hypocrite, I'd even prefer to watch that fucking horrendous Lego Movie again than have to suffer seeing those damn creatures on the screen in front of me.

The sound of the door opening – just as, really, I knew it would – causing me to reluctantly look up, I watch Ethan as he walks in to the room before closing the door softly behind him and just brace myself for what's coming. Ethan being the one person on the planet that I've vowed to never ever keep secrets from again, I'll tell him the – pitiful – truth because, well, I'll have to. This, however, doesn't mean that I'll enjoy it. Or that he'll ever be able to bring himself to quite look at me in the same way ever again.

“So... Return Of The Jedi, huh,” Ethan murmurs as, all the time smiling encouragingly, he crouches down in front me and places his hand lightly on my knee. “I'm taking it that it's you're very own version of Kryptonite...”

“Something like that,” I mumble, pulling, from somewhere, the required effort to give Ethan a weak smile of my own.

“Let me guess,” he continues in an easy going tone that's at odds with the look of obvious concern in his eyes, “it was that Sarlacc Pit thing, yeah? I mean, I have to say the thought of being slowly digested for a thousand years always used to creep the hell out of me, too.”

I shake my head. “No... It's not the pit with all the tentacles and teeth.”

“Then... I know! It's Jabba and the way he both looks at, and... licks... Leia,” Ethan offers with a shudder that I'm not entirely convinced is actually fake. “I don't know about you, but even as a child I thought that was all kinds of wrong. Not to mention gross. Very, very gross.”

I shake my head again. “Definitely gross, but... Uh... It's not that either.”

“Then...” Sighing, Ethan stands up and takes a seat next to me on the bed. “Come on, Will. Something about this movie clearly upsets you, and...”

“Ewoks!” I exclaim, not because I want to but because I know I just have to bite the damn bullet and get my sad confession over and done with. “Just... It's Ewoks, okay. I... I can't watch that movie because Ewoks creep me the hell out!”

Ethan – who I've always thought possessed an expression for every occasion – takes this newly learnt fact about me on board and for a dreadful moment just stares at me with his mouth hanging open. “Ewoks,” he eventually repeats dubiously as, quite unable to cope with the blank, uncomprehending way he's looking at me, I lower my head and stare down at my knees. “You're... creeped out by... Ewoks?”

“I hate the damn things,” I whisper miserably. “Everyone thinks they're cute and cuddly, but they're not! Just... Think about it. Why'd they befriend Leia, huh?”

“Because... They wanted to rescue her?”

“Then, if that's the case, why'd they have human size clothes just hanging around for her to wear when... there were no other humans around?”

“Uh...”

“I think it was probably because they'd already eaten them and just kept their clothes as some sort of freaky, souvenir. You know, like serial killers do!”

“Uh... Eaten them?” Ethan queries dubiously as, perhaps for the best, he chooses to gloss over the way I've just compared Ewoks to serial killers. “Will? What are...”

“Think about it. They were going to eat Han and Luke. Those... cute cuddly teddy bears were going to roast them, seemingly alive, over a fire and eat them!”

“And this... clearly struck you, as a child, as being something quite... horrific.”

“You think?” I drawl, turning my head and shooting Ethan a look of pure disbelief. “They're meant to be so cute and all that, but they think nothing of eating human flesh and I just hate them! They're nasty, dirty, murdering creatures who use the heads of slain stormtroopers to play drums on and... And they creep me out!”

“So I'm gathering,” Ethan murmurs, leaning forward and planting a soft kiss on my forehead before placing his arm around my shoulder and pulling me closer. “While I can't say I ever really viewed Ewoks in the same way that you clearly do, I... I can see why they might have... uh... bothered your oddly endearing, yet even as a child, overly logical mind.”

“It wasn't just the Ewoks,” I reply, sighing as I allow myself to relax against Ethan's familiar warmth. “Yeah, they set off my, as you just called it, overly logical mind, but it was my sister that... uh... finished me off.”

“Finished you off? How?” he queries, rubbing his hand along my upper arm.

“You would ask that, wouldn't you,” I mutter, glancing up and giving him a wry look. “She... Knowing how I felt about Ewoks, she rounded up as many of the damn stuffed toy versions of them that she could and one night, after I'd gone to sleep, covered my bed in them so that when I woke up I was surrounded by the hideous creatures! One of which, because my sister always was one for going the extra mile, even had fake blood smeared around its mouth and the head of my Han Solo figure stuck in its paw! I... I screamed so loudly that the next door neighbours actually called the cops because they were afraid I was being murdered!”

“Murdered by... man-eating Ewoks,” Ethan comments, looking for all the world as though he's throwing everything he's got in to not bursting out in hysterical laughter. “That... Uh... That really wasn't very nice of her at all.”

“Not nice? It was downright cruel,” I retort. “It didn't even matter that our parents came down on her like a tonne of bricks for her little... prank... as the damage had already been done and I had to sleep with the light on for months. I... I just...” Falling silent, I pull a face and press even closer to Ethan. “I can still see them, you know. And the one with the blood... Oh God... You should have seen it. I honestly thought it was going to bite me, that... that perhaps it had already bitten me!”

“A... A vampiric Ewok,” Ethan offers as, it finally getting all too much for him, he struggles to choke back laughter. “That... Uh... That's not something I suspect even Benji's ever thought about.”

“That's because Benji didn't have an older sister like mine,” I mutter as, Ethan's amusement being somewhat infectious, I can't help but laugh. “Look! I know it's pathetic, that... an Ewok isn't going to launch itself out of the screen and make a beeline for my jugular, but I can't... I just can't watch the damn things.”

“Then you don't have to,” he replies, tears of laughter glistening in the corners of his eyes as he tightens his arm around my shoulder and places a gentle kiss on my cheek. “It's okay, Will. No-one's going to force having to watch Ewoks on you and, as I saw the movie enough times as a child to not really care if I never see it again, if you want me to stay with you while the others...”

“If?” I interrupt, sneaking in a kiss on Ethan's cheek. “What do you mean... if? Of course I want you to stay me. But, hey, please don't think that you have to. If you'd prefer to watch...”

“I wouldn't,” Ethan interjects with a flirtatious grin. “I mean, why be out there watching a movie full of blood thirsty Ewoks that, hey, I could probably quote if I really wanted to, when... I could be in here with you playing hide the lightsaber...”

“Hide the lightsaber,” I repeat, smirking as I stand up and position myself between Ethan's spread legs. “Did you... really... just say... hide the lightsaber?” I add in a low voice as, leaning forward, I drape my arms overs his shoulders.

“I... may have,” he smirks, craning his neck up and capturing my lips for a quick kiss. “I may also be... regretting my choice of words, but...”

“Not the offer, I hope,” I finish as, all thoughts of – nasty, creepy, blood thirsty, flesh eating – Ewoks having finally been banished from my mind, I push Ethan flat on the mattress before straddling him and sliding my hands under his top and over the warm, toned flesh of his torso.

Grinning, Ethan closes his hands gently around my cheeks and, by both pulling me forward and half sitting up himself, rests his forehead against mine. “God no,” he whispers, his breath warm against my lips. “The offer still... very... much stands...”

~ end ~

(May The Fourth Be With You!)


End file.
